By Jeffrey D. Sachs |
China Daily |
An American flag flies outside of the US Capitol dome in Washington, US, Jan 15, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]
On Saturday, the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence. The occasion deserves reflection — not only on what the US has become, but on the founding principles it has so often forgotten. Three of those principles, set out by the founders themselves, would, if remembered today, transform the conduct of US foreign policy and improve the prospects for global peace.
The first is contained in the opening of the Declaration of Independence. The American colonists explained their decision to separate from Britain by appealing to "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind". This was a remarkable formulation. The Continental Congress claimed legitimacy by reasoned argument addressed to the wider human community whose opinions deserved respect. The new republic, in announcing itself to the world, did so as a member of the human family, not as its intended master. To be worthy of the respect of others — rather than to demand their submission — was offered as the foundation of American political identity.
